Heretofore it has been common practice to provide tow bars normally detached from the vehicle and hence subject to the inconvenience of attachment prior to use, or--if normally vehicle-mounted--the tow bar is usually up-folded and secured in an upstanding but unattractive transport position. The present invention was conceived in a successful effort to provide a tow bar which wholly avoids the need of the tow bar being either normally detached, or vehicle-mounted and normally secured in an upfolded position.